It was early morning in the Israelites’ camp. The two spies had returned safely from Jericho, and now all the people were ready and waiting to start on their last march toward the promised land. Joshua, their new leader, was brave; for God had spoken encouraging words to him. He knew the time had come to move forward, so he gave the command. Then the priests carrying the ark and the Levites carrying the pieces of the tabernacle led the way, and all the people fol-But the Israelites did not go very far that day. When they came to Jordan they found a flood of water sweeping down the river and overflowing its banks. They could look across to the green hills and beautiful fields in Canaan, but the river was too deep and the waters too swift for them to wade through. So the people stopped their march and made ready to wait until the overflow waters should pass by.
Perhaps the people of Jericho knew about the overflow of the Jordan River, and perhaps they thought, “We shall be safe from the Israelites as long as the waters rush so wildly down that stream; for surely our enemies will not try to cross over such a dangerous river.” But after three days’ waiting, God spoke again to Joshua and said, “Go forward!” even though the waters were still deep and the current swift and strong. God wanted to show his power once more to his people. And the people were ready to obey Joshua’s command. When the priests who carried the ark stepped bravely into the edge of the water, a wonderful thing happened. God stopped the water far up stream so that it could not flow. Instead, it piled up into a great heap. Then all the water flowed out of the river’s bed where the Israelites were waiting to cross over, and the people walked across to Canaan on dry ground.
God wanted the Israelites always to remember how he had helped them to cross the Jordan, so he commanded that one man from each of the twelve tribes should pick See large stone from the bed of the river where they crossed over and carry that stone to their next camp-ing-place. Then these men should pile the twelve stones into a heap, to remind the Israelites of how God showed his power at the Jordan. And Joshua made another heap of twelve stones at the place where the priests had stood with the ark, in the middle of the river, while the people passed by.
After this had been done, the priests carried the ark to Canaan’s side of the river, and then when all the priests and all the people had crossed in safety God caused the waters to flow down the stream just as they had flowed before.
Soon the people who lived in Jericho and all their neighbors who lived in other parts of Canaan heard that the Israelites had come into their land. They heard that God had dried up the Jordan River, when its waters were overflowing the banks, to let the Israelites cross over. And all the people in Canaan trembled because they were afraid of the Israelites, who served such a mighty God.
On the plains near Jericho the Israelites made their camp. They called the name of their camp “Gilgal.” And they went out into the fields around Jericho and gathered grain for food. Many of them had been horn in the wilderness and had never eaten grain for food before. They found fruits also, and they enjoyed eating the good things that grew in Canaan.
Until this time God had been sending fresh manna from heaven every day, except on the seventh day. For forty years the people had been eating this wonderful manna. But now the time had come when they would not need to be fed from heaven any more, for they were come into a good land, where plenty of grain and fruit and vegetables grow. So no more manna fell.